Obituary: Antoinette Martignoni, 99, of Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, CT — Antoinette Martignoni of Fairfield, Connecticut, born Antoinette Bremner Walker in New York, December 8, 1918, passed away on August 20th while in the Vitas Hospice unite at St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury after a brief illness. She was 99 years old.

She is survived by her daughters, Alessandra Powell and Elizabeth Strazar, her grandchildren Carol Walker, Greta Boudreau, Iam Williams, and Dylan Strazar, eight great-grandchildren — Salvatore Sodaro, Antonio Sodaro, Jack Boudreau, Nicholas Boudreau, Mark Boudreau, Seamus McCune Smith Blau, Logan Williams, and Frankie Strazar — one great-great-grandchild, Zaine Sodaro,and two stepchildren, Joanne and Charlie Martignoni. She was predeceased by her sister, Elizabeth “Betts” Bremner Walker O’Brien, and her half-brother Mallon McCune Lemaire.

It is impossible to sum up Antoinette’s (“Toni” or “Mimi” to her friends and family) life in a few lines. It could be noted that she was born to Walter Douglas “W.D.” Walker and Antoinette Gerard Smith Walker in Brooklyn and that she spent her early childhood there, and that her family called her “Bubbins,” but that would tell you nothing of how she preserved, as so few people do, a childlike sense of wonder and joy in the very fact of existence into adulthood and even old age.

It could be reported that she graduated from high school at 16, and in 1941, became the first woman to graduate with a degree of Bachelor of Applied Arts (a program created specifically for her) from the University of Pennsylvania, but that wouldn’t convey her lifelong love of learning, and the combination of precision and poetry that she poured into every drawing she created. It is a matter of record that she was married to Carlo Martignoni from 1947 to 1960, but that gives you no inkling of the delight that she took in the two daughters that she had with him, and the immense respect and love with which she treated them.

She contained multitudes. She loved laughter, beaches, good food, clouds, and serious conversation. She read books (voraciously and eclectically), read palms (carefully and generously), produced meticulous astrological charts, and gave healing reflexology (aka outstanding foot rubs). She was both introspective and extremely curious about the inner lives of others. She possessed the great gift of being able to easily forge true human connections, and as a result had many good friends. She was able to meet people where they were and accepted them on their own terms, and in turn, she inspired others towards her traits of introspection and benevolence. And, rare for the elderly, she was able to relate particularly well to children and adolescents; they in turn found her fascinating. She exuded warmth, goodwill, and vitality. She was the youngest old person one could meet. She took up jogging in her 60s and only stopped driving at 91. She practiced yoga and expressive dancing long before either were cool.

In her long and varied professional life, she did architectural design renderings for the Frederick R. Harris engineering consulting firm (for you Millennials, these things used to be drawn by hand rather than being produced on computers); she created ad illustrations for the Fairfield Store; was a partner in the advertising firm Koelling & Co.; and started her own graphic design company, Martignoni & Co. She created illustrations for large United States corporations such as Avis Rent-A-Car, Pepsi, H. J. Heinz Company, Nabisco, and Duracell. Her engineering drawings from the 1960s through the 1980s featured illustrations of futuristic projects, including early planning for Boston’s “Big Dig” project.

Antoinette had great spiritual hunger, curiosity, and insight. At various times in her life, she became involved in Catholicism (running a “religious articles” shop in NYC’s Greenwich Village with her husband in the 1950’s), Theosophy, Episcopalianism — she sang in the choir at Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Fairfield, and was very involved in the community theatre within the church — EST, and Pathwork. In her 70s, she developed a form of intuitive art which she called “Inner Portraits.” Each client would sit with her as, drawing on inner vision and insight, she would create a portrait in which the subject was easily recognizable, but with symbolic locations and poses, and a subtext of hidden figures and images that only became apparent to both the client and the artist herself when examining the completed portrait together. She produced over 700 Inner Portraits during the last three decades of her life.

She once said: “Be kind to each other, if you fight, forgive quickly, don’t let fear and worry eclipse joy and awe, remember beauty is always awaiting you even in the darkest moments, and please remember we are all afraid of something — so be oh so gentle with yourselves and each other, and make sure you skip stones at the beach and play in the waves, enjoy every last moment of your life.”

At age 85, Antoinette learned via genealogical research that she was the great-granddaughter of the prominent Civil War-era abolitionist James McCune Smith, who was also the first African-American to receive a university medical degree. In honor of this important family legacy, she requested that those who might wish to make donations in her name after her passing should make them to the North Star Underground Railroad Museum, 1131 Mace Chasm Rd., Ausable Chasm, NY 12911-1704, https://northcountryundergroundrailroad.com/museum.php.

Antoinette’s family would like to thank the entire Vitas hospice team, those who came to her home weekly, and finally those who lovingly cared for her in the hospice unit at St. Mary’s, seeing that she had dignity and comfort to the very end. Her ever curious sense of wonder and joy for life affected even those who cared for her there, another example of how her zest and joy were spread far and wide.

A memorial party will be held on Sunday, October 14, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Elizabeth and Tim Strazar’s home, 529 North Madison Road, Guilford, CT 06437. All who loved her — which, at can be assumed, encompasses everyone who knew her — are welcome to attend this celebration of her remarkable life. Parking is available at Guilford Lakes Elementary School (40 Maupas Road), and while the school is within walking distance of 529 Madison, you can also request a shuttle pickup by calling 203-457-7208. Please bring food to share, a lawn chair, and a perennial plant which reminds you of Antoinette, to add to her memorial garden.

Contributed photos and obituary